TinyStepper
Toddler rolling colourful playdough with cookie cutters on a table

Feelings Face Drawing

Draw simple circle faces showing different emotions together.

Activity details

2y–4y12 minslowindoorConstruction PaperCrayons

Instructions

Get ready
  • Set out paper and crayons at the table
  • Draw a big circle: 'This is going to be a face. What feeling shall we draw?'
  1. Set out paper and crayons at the table
  2. Draw a big circle: 'This is going to be a face. What feeling shall we draw?'
  3. Start with happy — big smile, eyes curved up
  4. Add angry: 'What do angry eyebrows look like? Down and pointy!'
  5. Draw sad, surprised, scared — let your toddler choose colours and help draw
  6. Point to each face and name it together
  7. Ask: 'Which face do you feel like right now?' — validate whatever they choose
  8. Keep the faces somewhere visible to reference later: 'Show me on the faces how you feel'

Parent tip

Set out construction paper and crayons before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Proud child holding up a painted sheet covered in bright handprints and splatters

What success looks like

Messy hands and a child who doesn’t want to stop. The artwork doesn’t need to look like anything — the process is the point.

Sit down with crayons and paper and draw big circle faces together, each showing a different feeling — happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, calm. As you draw each face, name the emotion and talk about when you feel that way: 'This is the angry face. I feel angry when something breaks.' Research consistently shows that children who can name their emotions have significantly fewer aggressive outbursts.

Why it helps

Zero to Three notes that 'some toddlers love learning new words to describe their feelings, such as furious, irate, and livid' — and drawing faces is one of the most concrete ways to attach those words to something the child can see. Building emotional vocabulary early gives toddlers a way to name what they feel before it spills out as a tantrum, which is the foundation of self-regulation.

Variations

  • Use paper plates instead of drawn circles for a more tactile experience.
  • Cut out the faces and stick them on lolly sticks as feeling puppets.
  • For older toddlers, add more nuanced feelings: frustrated, excited, worried, proud.

Safety tips

  • Use chunky crayons suitable for small hands — avoid sharp pencils.
  • Supervise to ensure crayons stay on paper and out of mouths.
  • Keep the conversation light — don't force discussions about difficult feelings.

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